As development in eastern El Paso County continues, the El Paso County Department of Public Works has been working on the configuration of how the future Briargate Parkway extension will connect to Stapleton Road. Jennifer Irvine, EPC engineering manager, said the connection of the two roadways has been planned since 1987.The corridor plan, a document adopted by the EPC Board of County Commissioners, shows the long term plans for the area, she said. The plans include the connection but not the alignment of that connection, Irvine said.ìIn the city, development is occurring that will allow Briargate Parkway to meet Black Forest Road,î Irvine said. ìThe missing link is from Black Forest Road all the way out to Meridian Road. Development from Meridian to the east has built some of the Stapleton Road extension. And the county has done some projects with Stapleton east of Meridian by extending where development left off ó and continuing Stapleton to Highway 24, then from Highway 24 to Curtis Road.îIrvine said a portion of the ìmissing linkî will be filled in by development in the area, in particular the Sterling Ranch development. Part of the connection will be dictated by development, which is still in the planning phase; and the rest of it will be planned by the county through a corridor study, funded by the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority, she said.ìWe have somebody under contract for later this year to do the study,î Irvine said. ìThe study will take a closer look to say what the road will look like, what the impacts of the right of ways are, what the wetland impacts are, if intersections will be needed and what the access to the road will look like.î The study will address other issues, and the plan is to project out 20 years so the road is adequate for the next two decades, she said.Another part of the studyís goal is to determine how much the extension will cost and the funding sources, Irvine said. The PPRTA will only fund the study and some of the roadway designs for now.The corridor study will be a public process so citizens can stay informed of the progress, Irvine said. Additionally, other improvements to roadways and infrastructure in the area by the developers will also be a public process, she said.Currently, the portion of Briargate Parkway east of Black Forest Road will keep its name but the county will have to determine where the name change from Briargate to Stapleton will occur, Irvine said.Since the county does not currently have many east-west roads to serve the community, she said the Brairgate to Stapleton connection is a much-needed improvement. ìIt will be a really good east-west connection in the county,î Irvine said.
